Pasiphae Moon
(Name pronunciation: pass-IF-æ) Pasiphaë is one of the two current Witch Queens on Pantook Mountain. She resides with the rest of the royal family in Caddo Castle. Physical Description Pasiphaë has a build defined by a svelte stature and graceful gait. Her hair is naturally dark, but Pasiphaë is not above dying her hair and trying a new style. Really, it’s easy to tell the difference between the two--if not by personality and behavior, then certainly by style. Pasiphaë knows when it's important to blend, but she has flair and panache and knows how to let it shine when she wants to....which is almost always. Her wide eyes are an arresting dark shade of blue, almost black, and yet they always twinkle with hidden promise and mischief. It’s rare to see her without a smile on her face or laughing at something funny someone said (or something funny she said, though please, don’t encourage her bad jokes because she’s simply incorrigible). Pasiphaë hasn’t met a color that she didn’t like yet and that truth is reflected in her wardrobe. To call her a ‘clothing horse’ would be a polite understatement. Given the egalitarian nature of witch society, it isn’t an unusual sight to see Pasiphaë visiting a local seamstress for a new look. She is the very spirit of couture, but she is never exclusive--she loves for people to look, feel, and be their best, so it should never come as a surprise to see someone else sporting the queen’s fashion. That aside, Pasiphaë is very specific with her body language--never a move wasted, very few things ever really done by accident. Pasiphaë gives the appearance of someone only interested in the superficial, but she is so much more than that--she’s like an archipelago; appears to be disconnected on the surface, but beneath everything is far more interconnected than what anyone could guess. Personality Pasiphaë is a complicated figure in a simple package; to the outside world, she appears to be the complimentary side of her twin. Gregarious and warm when compared to distant and studious. She is an extravert in every way that counts--she is energized by interactions with others, she can be the life of the part, but is always just demure enough to let someone else be the center of attention. She’ll never forget a name or a face once she learns it and will know enough facts about a person to always give a warm and personalized welcome. She’s said to be able to immediately make a person feel warm and welcome; friendly, hospitable, and attentive. In short; she’s the nice twin but that, like everything else surrounding this set of twins, is an oversimplification. To call Pasiphaë manipulative would be incorrect--instead, she is incredibly socially aware. She has the personality of a socialite, the fashion sense of someone destined to rule the runaway in another life, but ultimately the mind of a psychologist. Pasiphaë is smart, but not quite in the way that her sister is--where her twin is studious and steeped in enough mysteries to put even the eldest sage to shame, Pasiphaë is smart about people. Even as a young child she’s always analyzed social interactions--for a while she and her twin seemed a lot more similar to each other, both quiet girls, but even then Pasiphaë was different. She watched. And tried to understand. She learned to put herself in another person’s shoes. She learned not to let her thoughts be weighed down my convention, but to embrace possibilities and differences. She learned that it was important to find out another person’s motivations because once you found that out, it informed one of how they would react to certain stimuli, what they could possibly be capable of, what they want and how to get them to do what she wanted. Most importantly, she learned how to let others underestimate her--she’s able to set pride aside and doesn’t mind if people consider her to be the less intelligent twin or the less talented twin--it only serves to her advantage. She’s the talker--whatever information she finds out is given to her sister, though in the meantime she puts on a smile and turns on the charm. She is not mean spirited and never has been in this regard--but she can’t help but see what she sees. For one who is a representative of a magical community, her approach towards people can be...pretty scientific and at times Machiavellian. She knows how things should be, so when things don’t line up they catch her attention. She’s good at keeping a flexible perspective and will suss out a puzzle until she figures it out. In another life she could have been a detective of some sort, but please do not weep for that unlived life--she has made and continues to make good use of that skill now. If her sister is the one who gathers intelligence, Pasiphaë is the politician. Her warm, welcoming, and kind demeanor hides a shrewd mind and anyone who makes the mistake of underestimating her does so at their own peril. The thing is, she is never insincere when it comes to her warmth--Pasiphaë delights in living and wants to share that joy with others. She loves experiencing life through her senses and is rather tactile. Even so, she knows how to prioritize and is a consummate professional in everything that she does. Protecting others is what she does naturally. She loves and trusts her sister implicitly--they only became Queens together and so to will they rule in lockstep. Even though Pasiphaë is often associated with warmth and light, just like a harsh sun can do as much harm as good, so too does Pasiphaë have a side that is very rarely seen. It’s not that she doesn’t feel anger or rage, but for the most part she’s able to reason through it, set it aside, and let cooler minds prevail. But, one cannot be as passionate about life as she is without being able to feel anger. She’s quicker to become angry on behalf of others rather than herself--senseless cruelty is something that doesn’t sit well with her and she doesn’t like to see others suffer. History Birthed under a full moon, Pasiphaë was an interesting child. Most witches have interesting childhoods, really, but Pasiphaë always seemed to be a little more cognizant than what any child had a right to be. She was mainly a typical child--a creature of the outdoors and the world, it was difficult for adults to keep up with the mischievous little ragamuffin. She could behave when she wanted and perhaps one of her favorite things was ‘matching’ with her sister--dressing the same, acting the same--to be honest, it was really more of a game as far as Pasiphaë was concerned. Hecate was more of a homebody...and Pasiphaë was okay with that. She would always make sure to try to include her sister into any activity that she wanted to get up to, but she also knew to accept when her sister didn’t want to be bothered. She loved her sister immensely and, because of that, always tried to be mindful of her moods. As a result, she became her sister’s shield by default. She was the friendly twin, the one who was the buffer. While her sister was discovering the secrets of magic, Pasiphaë was discovering the secrets of...well...people. Whom loved whom, whom hated whom, who owed whom a debt. There wasn’t much that was safe from Pasiphaë’s prying ears and watchful eyes. But, she was good at getting people to underestimate her, so getting information was easy. Pasiphaë made people watching cool before it was even a thing. Growing up in Caddo Castle, there was only so much one could do, thus her interest in people. She was never really a bad student and paid well enough attention. She proved to be talented, but not enough to be called a prodigy nor did she show the same dedication to probing the deep masteries of magic as her sister. Instead, Pasiphaë had more of a natural knack to magic and, once she gets something down she tends not to explore it further, but move on to something else. She always had some sort of boredom--she was curious about a world beyond their beautiful home and castle, but witch society looked down on humanity and saw little point in interacting with them. Any questions that she had about humanity was dismissed and any desires expressed for exploration was always redirected towards the betterment of society. Realizing that her society wasn’t going to chance, Pasiphaë realized that the change had to come from within. When her sister wanted to go on a expedition, Pasiphaë was all too willing to join. She was actually as excited as her sister to find a book from before--her sister’s research and study had led to an amazing discovery and a creation of the Darkmoon deck of tarot cards. Between Hecate’s divining skills and Pasiphaë’s ability to put action to their plans, the two began their political career. Hecate was their source of information and Pasiphaë’s force of personality was...well...something to really be admired. They gained allies and decreased any power their political opponents might have had. Thus, they became Queens. While for the most part Pasiphaë was fine with following Hecate’s lead in certain decisions, Pasiphaë wanted to leave her mark as well. Agreeing to let witches study at Sator Academy was one thing that she had pushed for. Despite witches largely looking down on other sentient species, Pasiphaë had a feeling that the world wouldn’t always allow the witches to remain separated unto themselves. Thus, she was doing her part to try to affect positive and healthy change within her society. Still, time can only tell just how that decision and many others will shape the future. Storyline The Human Report- Pasiphaë and Hecate hear their first report from Sabine and Felicity on the Coalition.